It has been said that the Barclay’s Premier League is a marathon not a sprint. This is because it’s a nine month slog through late summer, fall, winter and spring with only the fittest surviving.

With less than ten matches to play the race for those valuable Champions League places has become a flat-out sprint. With Manchester United streets ahead and guaranteed qualification it has come down to the following six clubs, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton and possibly Liverpool to fight for the three remaining places, two of which go straight to the group stages while the fourth moves into the final qualifying round.

Manchester City: P29 Pts 59 – Two tough fixtures versus United and Spurs remain however the remaining matches are against bottom feeders. They should qualify with ease.

Chelsea: 29 Pts 55 – The Blues face United, Liverpool, Everton and Spurs in what is becoming a massively congested fixture list. A stumble is unthinkable but a very real possibility.

Spurs: P30 Pts 54 – Everton, Chelsea and City face the Londoners who have fate in their own hands however the Europa League is proving a distraction. The motivating factor has to be finishing ahead of Arsenal.

Arsenal: P29 Pts 50 – The Gunners only have to face United and that’ll be by the time the Red Devils have wrapped up the title. The win over Bayern in the Champions League could be just the boost they need to steal 4th from north London rivals, Spurs.

Everton: P29 Pts 48 – Everton have only qualified for the UCL once and then they got bounced in the qualifying round. They’ll need some help this time around but if they can raise their game to the levels they showed against City on Saturday, anything is possible. They’ve still to face Spurs, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.

Liverpool: P30 Pts 45 – The loss to the Saints has left Liverpool on the outside. realistically they need to win their last eight on the bounce.